FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES DECEMBER 2012 69
natural riders. He rode over 50 winners Pointing; but this meant
looking like someone out of a Concentration Camp and being a
grumpy old man! So hunting has become his favoured pastime
as no weigh-in is required! He gets on the horse at the Opening
Meet in November having done nothing all summer, rides down to
the biggest hedge and never misses. How unfair is that!? He also
took up car racing and did the Le Mans 24-hour race which was
incredible. In between the crazy pastimes he runs a successful
furniture sales company called Ningbo.
Has becoming a Mother made you look at your career in a
different way, the responsibilities of being a Mummy?
Being a Mum has not changed my competitive side but trying to
juggle things has! Time is very precious and I don’t want Jake to
have grown up before I have blinked!
Who could you absolutely not do without on a day-to-day
basis?
I couldn’t do without my husband! However cheesy it sounds,
because he understands life is competitive, ambitious and
determined. He is totally realistic and has defnitely helped me
achieve what I have. My family have been my backbone, and
without them nothing would have been possible. I am, and always
will be eternally grateful to them.
The world of Eventing is notorious for tangled politics and
rider rivalry. What advice would you give to any youngster
wanting to pursue a career in this discipline?
For any rider trying to make it I would tell them to never think
they are too good not to do the likes of mucking out, grooming,
tack cleaning etc. So many of the kids I see think it’s beneath them
and all they want to do is ride. You need to learn in all areas with
horses that to achieve big results it’s about horsemanship and not
just sitting on them. And to keep trying.
Polly and Westwood Poser at Badminton in 2011.